I opted for butterflies today. Time to start anew. The weather tried to convince me that spring is here. But I have some snowflake earrings still on reserve, just in case.

I spent the day researching, gathering supplies, and making a few test model stepping stones for our  100th Day number path project at school.

I'd never mixed concrete before, which amazes me because not a day passed in my childhood without mention of concrete. My dad was passionate about lightweight concrete. His workshop was full of perlite and vermiculite, Portland cement, and concrete testing methods. Our family vacations always involved stopping to see new concrete roof decks and attend meetings of the American Concrete Institute or the American Society for Testing and Materials.

I'm very proud of the mold I created: two segments of garden edging that form a 14 inch circle. I followed an online recipe and mixed the concrete with water until it had the consistency of brownie mix. (I don't think my dad would have approved. Very unscientific!) How cool it is that the aggregate (that's the term for the sand and gravel mixed with cement to make concrete... I knew that before I could read)

... the aggregate sinks as you trowel the concrete, leaving a smooth, flat surface. 

I guess memory works in much the same way, as life washes over us, leaving the past hidden. So much lies just below the surface.

Now I wait to see whether glass and tile adhere to the concrete without special bonding agents. Concrete needs time to cure. Time heals all, or so they say!